Engineering Universities in Germany: A Guide for International Students 2026

More than one million students are enrolled in STEM subjects in Germany. Most of them (more than 750,000) study engineering. A special feature compared to other countries is that students in Germany can choose between different types of higher education institutions offering engineering sciences. As shown in the previous section, these different institutions have different teaching styles. This gives students the freedom to learn and study in the way they want and to find the perfect programme for their interests. Take a look at the many institutions offering engineering courses below:

There are 17 Technical Universities (TUs) in Germany:

1. RWTH Aachen.
2. Technical University of Berlin.
3. Technical University of Braunschweig.
4. Technical University of Chemnitz.
5. Technical University of Clausthal.
6. Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus-Senftenberg.
7. Technical University of Darmstadt.
8. Technical University of Dortmund.
9. Technical University of Dresden.
10. Technical University of Bergakademie Freiberg.
11. Hamburg University of Technology.
12. Technical University of Hannover.
13. Technical University of Ilmenau.
14. Technical University of Kaiserslautern.
15. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
16. Technical University of München.
17. Technical University of Stuttgart.

Besides the Technical Universities (TUs), many other universities also offer engineering sciences though they may not focus only on technical study programs. Check some of them out below:

1. University of Augsburg.
2. University of  Bayreuth.
3. University of  Ruhr-Bochum.
4. University of  Bremen.
5. University of  Duisburg-Essen.
6. University of  Erlangen-Nürnberg.
7. HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU).
8. Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg.
9. University of  Kassel.
10. University of  Kiel.
11. Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.
12. University of  the Bundeswehr München.
13. University of  Paderborn.
14. University of  Rostock.
15. University of  Saarland.
16. University of  Siegen.
17. University of  Ulm.
18. University of  Wuppertal.

Over 100 Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Germany offer engineering courses. You will find engineering faculties at almost every major Fachhochschule in Germany. We have listed some of them below:

1. FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences.
2. Hamburg University of Applied Sciences.
3. Berlin International University of Applied Sciences.
4. Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin.
5. Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
6. Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
7. Munich University of Applied Sciences.
8. RheinMain University of Applied Sciences.
9. Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.

Additionally, there are a number of UAS that already have the technical focus in their name and call themselves “Technische Hochschule” (TH) which is Technical University of Applied Sciences in German:

1. Bingen University of Applied Sciences (TH Bingen).
2. Deggendorf Institute of Technology (TH Deggendorf).
3. Cologne University of Applied Sciences (TH Köln).
4. Ingolstadt Technical Academy (TH Ingolstadt).
5. Lübeck Technical Academy (TH Lübeck).
6. Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences (TH Mittelhessen).
7. Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm Technical Academy (TH Nuremberg).
8. Eastern Bavaria Regensburg Technical Academy (OTH Regensburg).
9. Rosenheim Technical University of Applied Sciences (TH Rosenheim).

Just because international students can study at a public university for free doesn't mean they have to sacrifice quality. Public universities in Germany offer world-class programmes that are ranked among the best in the world. What sets Germany apart is that students don't have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to get that education. Take a look at some of the top-ranked engineering universities in Germany below:

Generally, there are three main requirements international students need to meet to be eligible for a degree program in Germany. We have taken the guesswork out of such research for you and outline application requirements in all of the engineering study programs on our StudyFinder. To see if you meet the most basic requirements to apply to an engineering university, check the requirements below:

The requirements listed above are the bare minimum needed to apply to an engineering degree programme. However, each programme sets its own individual application requirements, which may go beyond the absolute minimum requirements outlined in this section. Additional requirements may include, but are not limited to, the following:

Public universities in Germany generally do not charge tuition fees. This also applies to non-EU students. As public universities dominate the higher education landscape, all top ranked universities are public. In fact, the top ranked universities for engineering listed in this article are all public. However, note that the University of Stuttgart and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are exceptions to this rule as they are located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The state of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany charges a small tuition fee to all non-EU students. However, over 60% of the engineering courses on our StudyFinder are tuition-free. Private universities in Germany, as elsewhere, charge tuition fees. In addition to private universities and Baden-Württemberg, there are a few other exceptions to the free tuition rule. All these costs are shown below:

Applying for a course can be time-consuming. The collection of official documents that need to be submitted is at the root of this lengthy process. Therefore, we recommend that you develop a timetable for your application, with personal deadlines set weeks in advance of the actual university and admissions office deadlines. We have simplified the steps as much as possible to give you a general overview of the application process for someone who may not know where to start: